Mind's Eye
by 13jelliclesong13
Summary: Loki has escaped from prison and is sent on extracting his revenge on the Avengers, but in order to do that he casts a spell on them that ends up going horribly wrong for everyone. Now they must race to reverse the effects before it's too late!
1. Trust Issues

Loki silently slipped into the cold room, and gazed into the darkness. He muttered a spell under his breath, and made a small orb that emanated a powerful green light appear in the palm of his hand. He walked over to the nearest shelf and gazed at the thousands of volumes of books that were seated on it. He glanced over each quickly, until he had located what he needed. He grabbed the book from the shelf and extinguished the light.

Like a shadow, Loki disappeared from the room and began weaving his way through the many halls of the castle that he had grown up in alongside his "brother" Thor, and until recently, had been a prisoner in. Loki smiled to himself as he recollected how relatively easy it had been to escape, and how easy it would be to finally take his revenge on the people he hated the most. While he was a prisoner it had been all too easy to earn everyone's trust, just as it had been too easy to earn back Thor's trust.

After the battle on Earth, and Loki had been captured and taken hostage as a prisoner in the realm he had once ruled over as the rightful king. Bound and filled with a burning hatred he was brought before the all-father to have judgment passed over him for his crimes. But, much to Loki's surprise, Thor had defended him saying that he had completely forgiven his "brother" and that to punish him would be a terrible mistake. Had Loki not loathed Thor with such a strong passion, he might have even felt grateful towards the other god.

What shocked Loki further still was that Odin had been swayed by Thor's defense. Loki was not to be stripped of his powers and exiled as first planned, but to be imprisoned until it could be proven that he was trustworthy enough to be released and restored to the throne as a prince of Asgard and a son of Odin.

It took all of Loki's self-restraint not to laugh in their faces at their blind stupidity. Instead he played the part well of a broken prodigal son desperately seeking forgiveness. He had even knelt before the man who had dared lied to him his whole life and called him "father" and called Frigga "mother" and beg of their forgiveness. He held back a satisfying smirk when he saw a single tear fall down the Queen's cheek. He finally allowed Thor to embrace him warmly, even though he wanted to spit in his face and tare the flesh from his body.

Loki was led away by two armored guards to the cell that would confine him, until he could escape and extract his glorious revenge. He was chained by the wrists and ankles to the back wall of the cell, and the bars were reinforced with a special magic put in place by Odin himself that greatly weakened his powers. This did not concern Loki, for it did not weaken his silver tongue.

The two guards took shifts guarding over Loki; the male during the day, and the female at night. They would give daily reports to Odin on Loki's behavior and made sure that Loki was feed properly. At first the guards were very rigid and always on high alert around the imprisoned god, but as time ticked by and Loki proved to be an absolute perfect model of goodness they began to relax... this was their first grave mistake. The second happened two months into his imprisonment when the female struck up a conversation with him.

Her name was Selieve. The moment Loki learned the female guard's name; he knew she would be the key to his freedom. He began putting his silver tongue to good use, and over the next four months Loki formed with Selieve what she believed to be a friendship. Of course, Loki also noticed the rosy blush that would come to her cheeks and the brightness in her eyes whenever she was in his presence. Brokol (the name of the second guard Loki learned much later) would converse with Loki as well, but more from shear boredom than from the desire to, like Selieve.

It was Selieve's daily reports to Odin of Loki's impeccable behavior and changed ways that led Odin to decide that it would be safe enough to travel to another realm briefly without the worry of Loki attempting escape. As soon as Loki heard this news from Selieve he had told her that he was grateful that Odin was beginning to trust him again, but on the inside he celebrated that this was the opportune moment he had been waiting for.

The night Odin left and Selieve began her shift Loki's silver tongue gleamed brighter than ever. He weaved lavish compliments of her beauty and grace. He watched with increasing pleasure as her lust became more and more prominent.

Around mid-night, Loki asked if he could have his dinner. Because he was still seen as the son of Odin, Loki's meals were more lavish than the average prisoner, but were usually served to him on plain levitating plates to prevent the guards from getting too close. However, in the last month Selieve had been comfortable in his presence to go into his cell and serve him herself, and even eat alongside him occasionally. Loki always remained chained to the wall, but he never once did anything that made her fearful.

His bright green eyes never left her as she slowly opened the cell door and walked over to Loki, plate in hand. She handed it over to him, but he slowly set it down on the floor beside him, never breaking eye contact. She looked at him with question in her eyes, but Loki stood straight up once more and placed a hand gently upon her cheek.

"Loki..." She questioned, but he cut her off by placing a finger upon her lips.

"Shhh... Be calm my beautiful Selieve." And with that he placed his lips firmly upon her own.

He instantly felt her melt into his kiss as her breathing became rapid. She began weaving her fingers through his long black hair, and he placed his hand firmly on her hips. The kiss became more heated and Selieve groaned with pleasure as Loki felt a smile form on her lips.

"Do you know how long I have wished for this?" She whispered into his ear.

"As long as I have, my love." He whispered back. He kissed her more firmly, while he traced her neck with his left hand.

"Selieve?" He asked after a few moments, breaking the kiss.

"Yes, Loki?" She inquired, her voice sounding as if she were dizzy from too much wine.

Loki slyly smiled, his bright green eyes flashing,

"Thank you."

Selieve opened her mouth to inquire further, but before she could utter a word, Loki grasped her by the throat tightly and threw her back against the wall. Her head snapped back and hit the wall with a loud echoing thud. She stumbled back up and reached for the dagger on her belt, but in a flash Loki had grabbed hold of one of his chains and wrapped it tightly around her neck. Selieve struggled and put up a good fight, but the god proved to be too strong for her.

Loki watched as agony and betrayal filled her eyes, and smiled like a mad man as all life slowly drained from her face. As soon as she lay still, Loki set her down gently and retrieved the keys from her belt. He unlocked the chains that bound him and sighed with relief. He looked down at the still figure at his feet.

"Forgive me my dear, but it had to be this way," He apologized knelling down and brushing her dark hair from her pale face. "It is truly a pity to destroy such a beautiful creature, but I must have my revenge." He closed her eyes, and gave her cheek one final stoke before standing. He walked through the door way of the cell and felt his full powers return to him. Loki smiled and laughed out loud. The first step in his plan was now complete.

He quickly made his way up the stairs and out of the dungeon. He had one final stop to make in order to complete his ultimate plan. While he sat in his prison cell, he had remembered a certain incantation that he stumbled upon when he was much younger and more naive. In order to do defeat The Avengers he needed to surpass them in power, and this spell would be just the thing to increase his power.

Sometime later, Loki stood at the edge of the bridge and gazed down into the eternal darkness below. With book in hand, he gazed back over his shoulder at the towering kingdom of Asgard for one final time. He felt tears well up in his eyes, but quickly reminded himself that he didn't belong there- that he didn't belong anywhere. Loki took a deep breath and leaped over the side of the bridge. The familiar and agonizing feeling of the darkness encased him as he plummeted towards his destiny.


	2. Lights Out

Thor's eyes flew open and he gasped. Something was terribly wrong- he could sense it. He sat up quickly in bed and threw the covers off his body. Beside him the slender figure stirred and opened her eyes.

"Thor?" She asked groggily. "What are you doing?"

"Please be still, my Jane. I sense that something is amiss back on Asgard. I must depart at once."

Jane groaned and rubbed her eyes.

"You would hope the important events would happen at every other time besides 3 o'clock in the morning."

Thor smiled at her sarcasm, and brushed her sandy brown hair from her face.

"I am truly sorry, to wake you at this hour. I expect to be back later in the day."

He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood, but Jane grabbed his hand.

"Do you have to go?" She asked with a hint of sadness in her voice. "I mean, you and the gang just got back from your last mission less than 12 hours ago. You may be a god, but you still have to take it easy."

Thor smiled and took her hand and kissed it. He then leaned forward and gently kissed her lips.

"I do wish that I could stay, but even though I have joined The Avengers and take residence on Earth now, I still have my duties as a prince of Asgard."

"Yeah, yeah. I know," Jane said smiling and rolling her eyes. "Go. Just come back to me as soon as you can... deal?"

Thor chuckled and gently kissed her again.

"Deal."

Jane smiled and settled back onto her pillow with a tired sigh. Thor rose from the bed, clad only in grey boxer briefs, and crossed over to the table in front of the bed to where Mjolnir laid on a small coffee table. Jane never got tired of that view.

Thor gripped the hammer in his fist and prepared to raise it over his head, but Jane interjected quickly,

"Um, babe, you might want to do that outside. Remember what happened last time you did that in here? Tony still complains about the gaping hole that used to be our last bedroom."

"Erm, yes, of course." The god said lowering his arm in embarrassment.

"Disembodied voice!" He called to the air. "I am in need of your assistance!"

"Yes, Master Thor?" A voice with a sophisticated British accent responded.

"Wouldst thou please guide me to the roof, so that I may don my Asgardian armor without the risk of destruction or injury to the mortals that inhabit this building together?"

"It's wonderful to hear that someone is learning from past events," Jarvis chimed happily, "Just follow the hallway past the lab and you will come right to the elevator that leads to the roof. Safe journeys Master Thor."

"Many thanks, good voice!" He then turned to Jane and bowed, "Until we meet again, my lady."

"Bye Thor." She smiled and closed her eyes as he quietly opened the door and headed down the hallway.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Bruce yawned and took of his glasses and rubbed his tired eyes. He looked at his wrist watch and groaned. He and Tony needed to stop doing these late night lab experiments. Sure they were getting a lot accomplished and it was keeping his mind busy and the Hulk at bay, plus he really enjoyed spending the time with Tony who had become his closest friend in the past few months since Bruce had moved into the Stark Tower after the battle with Loki. But it was getting to the point where he couldn't even get himself up before noon. He yawned again and looked over at Tony who busy typing statistic figures and staring intently at the monitor in front of him. Beside him was a half empty bottle of whiskey and three empty cans of Red Bull.

"It's 3:00 a.m. Tony, I think we should call it a night." Bruce said, shutting down his monitor after saving all the information.

"Only 3:00?" Tony asked, "Still plenty of time. Come on mom, five more minutes!"

"No, now." Bruce said smiling and Tony's childishness.

"Okay, Dr. No-fun." Tony exclaimed throwing his hands up in defeat.

Bruce walked over the lab door, holding it open as Tony stood and stretched walked to the door. Right as they turned to go, the almost naked Thor walked right past them.

"Good evening friends," Thor greeted warmly, "What keeps the scientist up so late?"

"Oh, you know, science," Tony answered smiling at the ridiculousness of the situation. "What are you up to?"

"Well, in the literal sense, to the roof. But in the metaphorical sense I am "up to" Asgardian business. I have a strange feeling that something is amiss, so I shall be traveling there for a short while to assess the situation."

"Okay then. Have a, um, good trip then." Tony said awkwardly.

"Safe journey, Thor." Bruce said holding his hand out. Thor beamed as he recognized the mid-guardian gesture and grasped Bruce's hand in his own and shook it.

"Thank you Bruce, good friend." Thor smiled at the smaller, dark haired man. "Now get thee both to sleep. I know you mortals need much rest in order to function properly, especially after strenuous activity. Jane is always reminding me of this after we consummate."

Tony burst into laughter.

"What is the matter with the Man of Iron?" Thor asked confused.

"Nothing," Bruce said, glaring at Tony. "You and I just need another lesson on mid-guardian cultural norms, that's all."

"I look forward to it!" Thor beamed and turned and headed back down the hallway to the elevator.

"Lucky woman, Jane is." Tony commented, still chuckling.

"You have the maturity of a 13-year-old, you realize this?" Bruce said rolling his eyes at his friend.

"Never denied it." Tony smiled and patted Bruce's shoulder. "I'm gonna hit the sack. See you at breakfast, or lunch, or whenever the hell we wake up."

Bruce smiled and nodded, "Good night, Tony."

The scientist parted, heading to their bedrooms on different floors, while behind them the bright lights in the lab shut off one by one until the whole floor had gone dark.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Clint Barton turned his head and closed his eyes. His trained ears picked up on footsteps. The tensed and instinctively Barton assessed that there were three people, ranging from average to above average weight. He then picked up on someone laughing. He recognized it as Stark's. Barton instantly relaxed and eased his grip on the bow in his hand. One of the numerous labs in the Stark Tower was only a floor above the practice room, so he assumed Tony and Bruce were having another late night science session.

Barton was still adjusting to living with all of these other people, and it didn't help that he was a naturally paranoid person. He was used to standing on his own. Every sound or unexpected event launched him into the mindset that he could be attacked at any moment. He had made friends with the rest of his fellow heroes, but the only person who he could really talk to about anything was Natasha. At the thought of his good friend, he smiled. He drew an arrow from his quiver, drew it back against the bow and aimed at the small target on the far side of the room.

Ever since he had been brainwashed by Loki, he had been having very vivid nightmares. In his line of work, he had become accustom to sleepless nights and fitful slumbers, but these dreams were different. In his nightmares he saw Loki's cold evil eyes pierce his very soul, and felt the burning and suffocating darkness that was all too familiar slowly and agonizingly consume his whole being until he couldn't breathe. He saw himself being replaced with a creature cold and indifferent to anything except to destroy. Clint felt his humanity slip away until there was absolutely nothing but a dark void of eternal emptiness. He would sometimes wake in the middle of the night, clutching his heart as it seemed to race a thousand miles per hour and screaming and if hot coals were burning his insides.

The only thinks that seemed to help calm his nerves enough to get a few hours of sleep were target practice and Natasha. It had been she who had insisted to Stark that they room on the same floor together by the practice room. Clint had known that this was to keep an eye on him in case he became unstable. He and Natasha had spent many sleepless nights kicking each other's asses in the practice room, watching movies together in Natasha's room, and talking together about their darkest innermost secrets.

Clint remembered the first night the dust from the battle with Loki and the Chitauri had settled, Loki had been imprisoned, and they all had moved into the Stark tower together. He had awoken screaming bloody murder, tears streaming down his face. Natasha had been by his side in a few moments. She didn't try to tell him to calm down or reason with him that he was safe, she had simply held him in her embrace as he choked back sobs. She stroked his hair and wiped the tears from his face. She stayed with him all night, holding him until he drifted back into a peaceful sleep. When he awoke the next morning, she was already awake and staring intently at him.

"Are you okay?" She had asked with genuine concern in her eyes.

"Yes... I think." He had responded, sitting up slowly and rubbing his temples. "Natasha? I... I just wanna... thanks."

"Shhh," She said cutting him off by placing her hand on his. "You would have done the same for me."

They stared at each other for a while and an unspoken pact was formed between them. They wouldn't tell anyone about the nightmares, and they would always be there for each other no matter what. Barton realized that he never wanted to kiss someone more in his life right at that moment. But he had held himself back. Natasha didn't care for him that way, he had told himself. Natasha had made it very clear on numerous occasions how silly trivial emotions were, especially love, and how they only clouded the mind and kept a person from thinking clear. So Clint did nothing except nod.

Clint let the arrow go. It sailed through the air and hit its target dead on. Clint yawned and retrieved the arrow. It was time to try to sleep while his mind was nice and clear. He headed out the training room door, shutting off the lights, and walked down the hall towards his room at the end. Along the way, he paused at Natasha's bedroom door. He saw that the light was on underneath the door. What was keeping her up so late, he wondered to himself. He placed his ear against the door. He heard slow and even breathing, so he assumed that she must have been asleep. Clint contemplated knocking, but he didn't want to risk waking Natasha. He placed his hand on the wood's cool smooth surface and sighed.

"Good night Natasha." Clint whispered and continued on to his room, shutting the door quietly behind him.

Natasha let out a sigh, and slid down against the other side of her bedroom door until she sat on the floor. She listened as Clint's footsteps grew fainter and fainter until finally she heard his bedroom door shut. She silently wished that he would sleep peaceful and dreaded seeing him so torn and weathered all the time. She felt her heart beat fast within her chest, and tears sting her eyes. She forced herself to calm down, and breathe evenly. She told herself not to be distracted, that Barton was no more than a friend. She sighed heavily, and stood up.

"Good night Clint." She whispered, and then turned off the light engulfing her room in darkness.


End file.
